The Alaskan Twelve
by The Broken Mask
Summary: Before they came to Sodor, the siblings known as The Alaskan Twelve lived and worked on a mountain railroad nestled in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, serving mines and businesses as well as the people who made their homes there too. These are the stories from their time there. Open to requests.
1. Pilot: Lizable's First Day

**Got something you'd like to see, like particular event or how the engines celebrate a particular occasion? Then let me know!**

* * *

Lizable's First Day

The peaceful still of this particular crisp Alaskan morning was broken by a fleet of five engines running up a lonely set of rail tracks, travelling in a close pack and at a rapid but relaxed speed, not rushing but not hanging around either. All five of the engines were made in the same design that could easily be described as old American, all sharing the same black base coat and pattern scheme but different pattern colours and slightly different sizes. The biggest engine lead the pack, also the oldest, patterned in gold and red, running on one line and keeping up the conversation with the other engines. The engine behind him, who was also hauling a covered flatbed, was middle sized for the group, patterned in silver and electric indigo but with mud splattered up her sides from the dock, wearing a massive smile all the same. On the line next to them were three others, two twin males and a female very similar to them but very slightly smaller and all three smaller than the others, patterned in bronze with chartreuse green, orange and lilac respectively, looking around as they were piloted along by their crews, being entirely new to the area.  
"Dei Lucrii is coming up, we'll be there soon!" The biggest engine called to the smaller ones as a tiny station appeared ahead. It was nothing more than a small raised platform a couple of engines long with a small, unmanned hut on it and surrounded by a small yard and in the centre of a triangle. As such, another line extended ahead, but the engines were sent off the big line and pushed into a single line to head through a narrow pass, the smaller engines making way for the bigger engines to take the lead and travel a little up the mountain to a nice plateaued area that fanned out immediately, allowing the engines to spread out into a rolling blockade, notably with the littlest engine on the opposite side to the biggest.  
They had entered what was evidently the main yard, or at least where the engines and most of the rolling stock was kept. The smallest engine could see lines upon lines of trucks to one side of the yard, some closed but mostly open topped, along with a handful of brake vans but no engine was free to pull them. There was plenty of activity though, the engine and rolling stock works were sat prominently next to the entrance they had just come through and there was an engine inside, patterned in silver and forest green, raised in the air on a crane and with two young men underneath, one actually working on him and another stood watching with folded arms. Next to that was what seemed to be a wash down station and there was an engine in there too, patterned in bronze and white and laughing as she was being washed by a young woman about the same age as the men next door. A few water and coal stations were scattered around as well but another pair of twins were sat together, one under a water tower and one having some coal put in her tender, patterned in gold with hot pink and yellow respectively, breaking their own conversation to look over as the five engines rolled in. Finally, the engine sheds were sat in a peaceful corner of the main yard, made up of four lines in with more than enough space for three engines on each with a similar structure on one side with two lines for two pairs of coaches and a storage building on the other. Although most of the doors were closed on the sheds, there was one engine sat on the entrance at the furthest side, patterned in silver and powder blue and had been asleep when the engines came in, but was now awake and looking grumpily over at them. On the land above the shed, there was a modest two storey house that overlooked the yard, well loved and occupied as two older people soon emerged.  
"Genevieve! You're _filthy_!" The hot pink engine exclaimed, staring directly at the electric indigo engine in unveiled horror.  
"That's the docks for you, Clara." Genevieve brushed it off with a grin. "Seas are rough, ship couldn't get in. That's why we're late."  
Clara, whose actual name was Clarabelle as displayed by her nameplate, huffed and both her twin sister Danielle and the biggest engine laughed.  
"You'll just have to go in for a wash when Sophia is done with Irenia." Danielle took the gentler approach to her younger sister, even though it didn't look like the wash station was going to open up anytime soon as Sophia and Irenia were clearly away with the fairies and all the bubbles in the air.  
"At least some of us are working." Clara sighed as her crew and Dani's crew returned to their cabs and the twins set off out of one of the many exits of the yard that went up towards the mountains.  
"At least we're not just hanging around." The chartreuse engine joked snidely, making his twin and Genevieve laugh and laughter came from the workshop too.  
However, Genevieve at least had the sense to quieten down as the two older people approached.  
"Welcome, welcome!" The man opened his arms as if he was embracing an old friend. "You must be Jacques, Ken and Lizable! We've been waiting for you!"  
"We're sorry, Mr Benally." Ken finally spoke up. "Our ship was late because the seas were rough, we didn't mean to be late!"  
"Oh, there's no need to be so formal for now." The woman chuckled, giving her husband a gentle elbow when he tried to playfully contradict her. "I'm Evelyn and he's Kojak. Welcome to the Benally Line."  
"Thank you, Mrs Benally. And Mr Benally." Lizable beamed at the two, feeling like she was being incredibly disrespectful just at the thought of calling them by their first names.  
Mr Benally was a big man, tall and pot bellied, his grey and thinning hair making him look older than he was, being only in his mid-fifties but there was a warm glow in his deep brown eyes. Similar in age, his wife was average in height but very stocky in frame, in appearance the kind of person found in the wilds of Alaska living off-grid, her dark, thin hair starting to grey as well but wrapped in a low bun and with sparkling blue eyes hidden behind thin framed glasses.  
"Anyway, we can't have you dawdling, there's plenty to be done!" Kojak spoke up as soon as there was any sign of a lull. "Ace, take Jacques and Ken with you to Hjelm Mine and get them used to the trucks. Genny, drop off the lamps and plows, take Lizable to meet the new coaches and take her on the supply run with you."  
"Yes sir!" Genny and Ace, the gold and red engine, replied with a whistle and set off in their respective directions. Jacques and Ken shared a look before whistling and setting off after Ace, the three engines disappearing behind the house.  
Genny rolled over to the shed next to the engine sheds with the covered trailer and Lizable awkwardly followed, not really knowing what else to do. A few workers gathered around the truck and took off the cover, revealing three snowplows that looked like they were fashioned from cowcatchers, coloured solidly in chartreuse, orange and lilac respectively and black headlamps lined in bronze and the colours of each of the respective engines, adding them to the already large pile of other lamps and snowplows. Lizable was able to recognise most of the colour combinations, but there were two she didn't - gold and royal blue, and silver and putty pink. At the same time, Genny had started trying to talk to the silver and powder blue engine, who was evidently having none of it.  
"Heyyyy Harlon." Genny had greeted when she rolled up. "How was the night shift?"  
"Fine. Got plenty done." Harlon answered flatly. As Lizable caught up, Harlon looked over at her and then back at Genny wordlessly.  
"This is Lizable, she's just come in." Genny explained. "Boss wants her on the supply lines with me."  
"Hi." Lizable smiled shyly over at the engine, but he didn't really react.  
"Hello." He answered simply.  
The conversation ground to an awkward halt as Harlon looked like he just wanted to go back to sleep. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the truck to be unloaded and the two purple engines could escape.  
"Well, have fun and see you this evening!" Genny said to Harlon before she went to dump the truck in a siding with the rest of them.  
"Sleep well." Lizable quickly chirped and ran from the shed, back to Genny's side, not seeing the befuddled look Harlon cast after her.  
Genny looked at Lizable as she came over with an amused look.  
"Don't mind our resident night owl." She chuckled. "He's always a little prickly. You can imagine what he's like with the more energetic of us."  
Lizable glanced back at Harlon, but the engine had clearly already gone back to sleep it seemed. While she was there, she glanced to what should have been the coach shed but the doors were closed on that as well.  
"Where are the coaches?" Lizable asked.  
"Loading bay at the start of the route." Genny replied, having been uncoupled from her truck and letting off a whistle as she left the yard with Lizable in tow.

Genny had obviously used the phrase "loading bay" loosely as the area where the coaches were being loaded up just outside the main yard was more like a long platform with a few huge storage buildings nearby, the men and women working there using trolleys and the occasional piece of machinery to move and load goods onto the luggage compartments. Like the engines, the coaches had a black base coat, but the two female coaches had broad electric indigo stripes under their windows with their names, Glacier and Icicle, in white in them as well as appropriate symbols either side, in the same way the engines had symbols either side of their names on their nameplates. The two male coaches, however, were sat behind Glacier and Icicle, having lilac stripes instead of electric indigo and lacked names and symbols.  
"I was supposed to give those two names before you got here but the others convinced me to let you do it." Genny commented when she saw Lizable look a little confused, but this only made her look at the bigger engine with stars in her eyes.  
"I get to name them!?" She exclaimed in glee.  
"Sure do." Genny laughed as she backed down onto her coaches. "But you'll have to do it later, we're already running late."  
As soon as Genny had coupled onto her coaches and moved out of the way, Lizable backed down onto hers as well, trying to mimic Genny but being overexcited and backing down too fast, bumping into her coaches hard enough for them to protest audibly and make the little engine shrink into her frame in embarrassment. Her crew tried to pretend it didn't happen and got her going behind Genny, even though the coaches were much bigger and heavier than Lizable had thought and it took some effort to get them moving.  
Lizable wasn't sure what she had expected but rolling out into the wilds wasn't quite it. The flat area around the rails was very wide indeed and every now and then there was an equally flat trail that lead into the forests and over hills. Only every now and then did Lizable see a flash of an isolated building on the horizon, but no sign of even a village. What really surprised her was when they rounded a bend and there was a young couple stood there, the man putting his arm out like he was hailing a bus and the engines were slowing to a stop beside him.  
"Hello Owen! Hello Willow!" Glacier and Icicle gleefully greeted the two people as the guard began open to Icicle's compartment.  
"Hello everyone." Owen greeted from under all his clothing, his pale skin and blond hair barely visible. "Do you have that fuel for us?"  
"Sure do." Genny grinned as several cans were passed down to the couple. "This is Lizable, one of the newbies."  
"Hello Lizable, are you enjoying Alaska?" The woman looked over at the engine as she loaded a small trailer attached to a snowmobile.  
"I-It's lovely." Lizable was caught off guard and stammered out a reply, making the woman and Genny laugh.  
"She's not been here long, give her a break, Willow." Genny laughed as the last of the fuel was handed over.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Willow replied chuckling but still looking kindly at Lizable. "I'm sure you'll get used to it soon. The wildlife is starting to come out, it's a wonderful sight to see."  
Genny frowned at this however, but Owen was quick to soothe the engine.  
"We'll stay safe, don't worry." He told Genny, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders. "You keep the Benallys safe for us."  
"We will. See you next week!" Genny replied, waiting for the couple to step back before whistling as she began to head down the line again. Lizable whistled as well and set off after her, feeling rather overwhelmed in the new environment. In fact, the two engines travelled quite a way before Lizable voiced her thoughts.  
"Mr Driver?" She asked, Genny being too far ahead for Lizable to ask her. "Why wouldn't Owen and Willow be safe?"  
"The wildlife can be dangerous around here. Bears in particular can be attracted to the smell of food..." Her driver started, but Lizable gradually tuned out as she spotted a sleek shape among the brush not far from them, running somewhat alongside the tracks.  
"Is that a bear?" Lizable asked, perhaps a bit louder than she should have as a switch flipped in everyone else, both of the engines suddenly pushed faster with more steam being let loose from both engines' sides. Much to Lizable's audible disappointment, the creature fled in the other direction.  
"No, that was a wolf." Her driver explained when he spotted it too, her fireman radioing the same information through to Genny's crew too. "I don't know why it was on it's own, they usually keep together in family groups."  
"Oh." Lizable couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, slipping into a sad silence for most of the rest of the journey.  
After some more stops, the two engines made it up to a small town called Williamson where they sat for a while as goods were exchanged on both sides. People of course came to say hello to her, but Lizable didn't feel much like talking.  
Once they left Williamson, Genny told Lizable that they were on the home stretch and she was right, very few people decided to live close to a large river, but the sound of the river flowing over the rocks was comforting and soothed Lizable's sullen mood a little.  
"Lizable, look!" Lizable's fireman spoke up this time and the engine could just about pick out where he was pointing, but when she did see her mood shoot up instantly.  
"Is that a bear?" The young engine asked.  
"It is." Her fireman confirmed.  
At a safe distance away but in sight, there was a great, mostly black furred, lumbering figure running along the other side of the river, seemingly chasing after something in the water, but to Lizable who hadn't seen one of these before it was an amazing sight, watching it run along and eventually leap into the water and begin swimming. She didn't notice both of the engines starting to go faster thanks to their own crew as she got to watch the bear for a long time as they made their way around the sweeping bend.

Lizable and Genny were told to take the coaches down into the yard that evening, which is what they did, finding most of the other engines still out, Harlon being prepared for more work and sat just outside the shed alongside the engine who had been lifted by the crane that morning and another female engine, patterned in the silver and putty pink she had seen earlier.  
"Genny! How is everyone on the route?" She called out as the two engines rolled past.  
"Everyone is fine as always." Genny replied, shunting Glacier and Icicle into one side of the carriage shed. "No sign of the Locklears' new dog though."  
The other engine immediately began to coo, as did the Sophia from her cab who Lizable hadn't even seen was there.  
"I saw a bear and a wolf." Lizable inputted as she shunted her nameless coaches into the shed too.  
"Already?" The forest green engine exclaimed quietly. "A bit early for them."  
"Well, they were out. All on their own too." Genny verbally shrugged.  
"Sounds like you two have been having fun." The two young men from the work shop that morning came over to the group but it was the one who was actually doing the work who spoke up. "Your tour train will be coming back soon, Fallon."  
"Hey, Sophia, mom says it's dinner time." The other called to the young woman, blanking the engines entirely although this appeared to be nothing new as the worst the other engines did was roll their eyes.  
"I'm coming." Sophia jumped down from Fallon's footplate and followed her brothers towards the house.  
"... Brat." Genny grumbled, Lizable looking over at her in surprise but the others just chuckled.  
"What?" Lizable questioned.  
"The oldest, Oliver, is a little brat. It's like we're not even here as far as he's concerned." The forest green engine replied grimly. "Alexander, the middle kid, is a lot like his dad but an utter slacker and Sophia is very sweet but always in another realm like Irenia."  
"What was that about me, Edrick?" Irenia asked, having rolled in with the last engine Lizable was yet to meet, patterned in gold and royal blue.  
"Um, nothing. I have something to do." Edrick quickly replied, trying not to let the surprise show on his face as he promptly rattled away out of the yard. Irenia didn't seem phased, in fact she was rather amused.  
"He'll learn eventually." The royal blue engine didn't laugh but he looked amused, before he looked over at the others. "How are the newbies getting on?"  
"Lizable is getting on great, Bertam." Genny smirked over at him. "And the other two are still with Ace at Hjelm Mine."  
"Apologies, I hadn't seen you there." Bertam told Lizable before looking over at her and Genny specifically. "Boss said that the new coaches arrived too."  
"They have, but they don't have names yet." Genny answered. "I was gonna let Lizable name them."  
Suddenly, several engines were looking at Lizable and she didn't quite know how to deal with the pressure.  
"Bear and Wolf." Lizable blurted out. "I want to name them Bear and Wolf."  
"Bear and Wolf it is." Genny smiled to the sound of excited chattering from the two coaches behind Lizable.


	2. 1: Christmas In Alaska

Christmas in Alaska

It had been some time since Jacques, Ken and Lizable had joined the railroad, but finally the winter season had begun and now the holidays were in full force. One morning, only a few days before Christmas and only a few days after Ken's encounter with the coal stores, the orange engine was still feeling bunged up, slow to steam and his voice croaking, but he and Jacques were being filled with water and coal respectively and Bertam was sat waiting nearby with Oliver. They were in earshot of the twins, much to their glee, and they could hear Oliver telling the older engine about a special shipment coming in for the family personally.  
Ken could barely wait for Oliver to walk away towards the house before he spoke up.  
"You're going to get the Christmas tree?!" He exclaimed.  
"Yes. A bit late if you ask me though." Bertam replied coolly.  
"I know right." Jacques snickered. "Who was in charge of ordering it? Alexander?"  
"Not sure." Bertam verbally shrugged the question off. "Should have been Mrs Benally's turn by family tradition but they've all been busy with Hjelm just opening up."  
"Family traditions?" Jacques asked, seeming scornful of the idea but Ken was fascinated.  
"Sure. They've got plenty." Bertam was not interested in the conversation anymore, looking over to his crew as they oiled him up.  
"Like?" Ken prompted, starting to get giddy.  
"The boys put the tree up, the girls decorate, the engines all gather to see the lights turn on in the evening, the next engine down the list goes to pick the tree up from the port, last year's engine goes to pick up the children from Williamson for the turn on and carols and for the evening-"  
"You're next on the list to pick up the tree?" Jacques challenged. "Why not us? It's our first Christmas here!"  
"Firstly, it would be Irenia that should be picking it up but she is at Hjelm with everyone else. Oliver only told me to do it because I haven't had a day away from there in the last two weeks and she agreed." Bertam answered firmly. "Secondly, we need every engine we can at the mines. Kenai is backlogged with ore, let alone the others. It won't take two of you to bring it up."  
"Surely it would be better for us to pick it up then." Jacques retorted. "You can pull more than us and Ken is basically out of commission anyway."  
"I can still do things!" Ken protested, although it fell on deaf ears.  
"Hey, what's the fuss about?" Alexander finally walked over from the workshop where one of the generators was in pieces, looking between the three engines.  
"Oliver says Bertam will go pick the tree up from the port but it should be our turn!" Ken was quick to say, over the top of the others.  
"You shouldn't be going anywhere." Alexander pointed out to Ken. "Gonna have to flush you out again by the looks of it."  
"But what about your traditions?" Ken whined when his crew agreed.  
"Irenia willingly gave her place up, said she'd do it another year." Alexander shrugged. "Although I don't see why you couldn't get it instead, Jacques."  
"Because Mr Benally wants me to get it." Bertam inputted urgently.  
"If you mean Oliver, of course he would, but if you mean dad, I wouldn't be so sure." Alexander turned back on Bertam. "Let's put it this way, would you rather be helping in Hjelm with the Moly' ore or be hauling a singular tree all the way from the port back here?"  
"I want to be useful." Bertam replied, Ken not missing his anxious glance at him and Jacques and knowing he was thinking about the coal incident.  
Alexander didn't say anything, staring Bertam down over the rims of glasses he didn't have.  
"Alright, I'd rather be in the mine, but-"  
"Then it's sorted." Alexander cut Bertam off before he could protest more. "You go to the mine, Jacques can get the tree and join you in a bit and we'll sort out who will pick up the kids later."  
Bertam looked like he was going to protest, but Alexander gave him the same look again and he finally seemed to give in.  
"Yes sir." Bertam responded regretfully, whistling and setting off out the yard.  
"And you had better get a move on too." Alexander turned to Jacques who was grinning in victory. "Won't be long until the ship comes in."  
"Yes sir!" Jacques beamed, whistling loudly before he rolled rapidly away out of the south entrance towards the main line.  
Ken wordlessly watched Jacques go, his brother not even saying goodbye and adding salt to his wounds over not going to get the tree himself.  
"Don't look too glum up there." Alexander pulled himself onto Ken's front out of earshot of his crew, all with a tricky expression. "Just maybe we can't put you back into service today and you'll have to help us get the tree up."  
Ken broke out into a massive grin.

While he waited, Ken was given another flush out as promised by Alexander, deep in the workshop among all the generator parts and he did have to admit he felt better, although whether that was in part due to helping with the tree was up for debate. All the same, he remained in the shop until Jacques came back into the yard, but not with the joyful expression Ken had expected, instead looking somewhere between angry and disappointed.  
"Look at it! It's _tiny_!" Jacques exclaimed before he had even come to a stop.  
The engine was towing one flatbed, which was rattling sadly behind him, and strapped on top of it was what looked like a massive needle wrapped in green tarpaulin and no longer than Jacques himself.  
"Thank you Jacques, we'll take it from here." Oliver managed to get to him before Kojak or Alexander did and his firm tone only irritated Jacques more.  
Jacques huffed and puffed away towards the mines as soon as he was uncoupled but the three men soon set into it, removing the tarpaulin and revealing that the tree had been tied up so much it was more rope than tree. Ken heard Oliver complaining about it, but Alexander just elbowed him into silence and the three men picked it up with Ken's crew and other staff to take it up to the flat ground beside the house. Around the engine, a huge structure was set up to stand taller than the tree with a pulley at the end of the span and a long rope wound through that. One end of the rope was tied to the top of the tree and, to Ken's surprise, his driver came up to him with the other end and tied it around his coupling hook.  
"This should be much easier with an engine." Alexander remained by the tree but beamed down at Ken with a thumbs up.  
"I don't understand." Ken meekly admitted to his driver.  
"You're going to pull on that rope and that rope will get the tree to stand up." Ken's driver answered.  
"... What?" Ken asked again, imagining the wrapped up tree growing limbs and getting itself stood upright or grappling on to the rope like a support wire to a telephone pole.  
"You'll see." His driver chuckled, jumping into his cab alongside the fireman.  
Ken was only left confused by his own interpretation, so much so that he didn't really notice the flurry of hand signals between his crew and Kojak and lurched backwards when his driver started pushing his controls, the tree audibly leaping up and hitting the floor again.  
"Come on Ken." His driver encouraged gently, keeping a firmer grip on his controls.  
It didn't take Ken long at all to get distracted again, watching the tip of the tree begin to arc up into the air, wanting it to go faster and so starting to pull faster.  
"Ken! Stop that!" Oliver turned and snapped at the engine with a guide rope in his hands.  
"S-Sorry." Ken apologised in barely more than a whisper, shrinking into the rails and letting his crew guide his movements.  
Eventually, the tree made it up to stand tall and proud, although still massively bound up as it had been when Jacques brought it up. Once the guide ropes were fastened down, the Benally men took blades to the bounding ropes, cutting them down as much as they could reach before pulling the last bits down. The ropes twirled and spun down like ribbons in a gymnastics competition and the branches of the tree sprung out behind them almost perfectly. The stars could almost be seen in Ken's eyes as he gasped.  
"Can we use that for the lights?" Sophia called over as she left the house with several open boxes of Christmas lights on a sled behind her, followed by her mother with one big box in her arms that had something else inside.  
"Sure!" Alexander called back before his brother or dad did, but both of them accepted it. Mostly.  
The crane was lowered down so that the end of the lights could be attached and brought to the top of the tree, all operated by remote control for raising the beam up and down, and dropping it at the top of the tree. Somehow, the end of the lights actually caught in the branches at the top and stuck there. Below, Sophia was putting on roller skates as Evelyn began to cut into the other box and the crane arm came back down.  
With the confidence and ease of someone who had done this a thousand times, she took the other end of the lights and began skating around the base of the tree, wrapping the lights in tight, neat spirals all the way down to the bottom and throwing the end to Oliver who plugged them in.  
Meanwhile, Evelyn had brought a huge star out of the box, running on battery power as she had to put some in while she waited for her daughter, and now it was being attached to the crane to be taken up to the top of the tree. The crane of course went slowly up to the top, and while Kojak controlled it, Oliver and Alexander were stood around it, watching where the crane was going to drop it, calling between each other to move the crane to one or away from the other. Eventually, and without much grace, the star was plopped on top of the tree, although nearly falling off as soon as the crane moved away.  
"Are you gonna turn them on?" Ken asked as soon as he was released from the rope and rolled over as close to the tree as he could get.  
"Not until tonight." Evelyn chuckled.  
"We'll just test it all while you're not looking." Sophia teased the engine.  
"But I want to see it!" Ken protested.  
"You'll see it when it gets switched on properly." Kojak tried to soothe. "It'll be a much better sight when it's dark."  
"But-"  
"Come on, back into the workshop with you." Alexander hopped down and got into Ken's cab. "I should get back to fixing that generator."  
Ken couldn't help but feel mopey when he was shunted into the back of the workshop again, no windows to let him see outside. He was so busy moping that he didn't hear the flick of a switch, followed promptly by popping and swearing from outside.

Sat by himself in the back of the workshop, Ken somehow managed to doze off over the sound of Alexander working nearby and people scrambling around outside, only waking up again when it was starting to get dark and Irenia rolled into the yard looking for the coaches.  
"You're going to pick up the children?" Ken asked.  
"Yeah, it is my go since Harlon didn't want to leave the mine." Irenia replied, unusually flatly. "I see you're feeling better at least. Edrick had a right go at Jacques when he came in complaining about the tree."  
"Edrick did? Wow." Ken winced. Edrick was the most patient of them all and he knew his twin could be irritating. He was starting to regret letting Alexander flush him out again, wondering if he could have helped keep his brother calm.  
"You'll get all the gossip soon, everyone will be on their way back from the mine before it gets too dark." Irenia teased Ken gently, backing down onto the coaches.  
"What do I do when they get back?" Ken called.  
"You'll see!" Irenia called as she left for the small town with Glacier, Icicle, Bear and Wolf in tow.  
Ken barely had time to settle back down into his place with a grumble before some of his siblings did indeed come back. Lizable rattled rapidly into the yard, followed by Ace and wildly excited.  
"Look Ace, it's already up!" She beamed with the energy of a thousand suns.  
"Of course it is, it's getting late." Ace responded, trying to calm her but clearly getting nowhere.  
"How did they get it up there?" Lizable questioned.  
"Ken helped. Jacques said so, remember?" Ace responded. "Ken, are you here?"  
"Yeah, I'm here." Ken responded, rolling over to the entrance to the workshop, still feeling sad.  
"You got to help?! You're so lucky! It's been such along day in the mine!" Lizable exclaimed.  
Ken got the feeling that he was being put on a pedestal by his only younger sibling, but at the same time he couldn't help enjoying it, his sister's infectious energy sapping away his misery.  
"I-I didn't do that much really." Ken meekly replied. "I only helped pull the tree up. The Benallys did all the decorating."  
"At least you've done something productive here today." Edrick rolled in next, behind Jacques and while Ken could practically see the anger between the two of them, they thankfully seemed calmer than Irenia had implied.  
"Wouldn't expect anything less." Jacques chuckled, reversing into the line beside his twin. "There's more ways to be useful than hauling ore all day."  
"Which you didn't do as much of as anyone else. Especially me." Genny laughed, even more so when Jacques pulled a face at her.  
"That's because you were unsafe about it." Harlon rolled in with Fallon, the former in his usual mood but Fallon could be seen rolling her eyes.  
"The manager counted it." Fallon scolded Harlon and Genny gently. "You did as well as each other."  
"Someone decided it would be a good idea to have a contest to see who could move the most ore." Bertam explained, appearing suddenly on Ken's other side when he began to look confused and looking wearily at Genny and Harlon. "I would have objected of course if I was there on time."  
"That's because you're no fun." Jacques said to Bertam without missing a beat, the older engine only rolling his eyes in response.  
"Control says Irenia is only a few minutes away, let's get in place!" Clarabelle called as she and Danielle finally joined them instead of talking to Sophia.  
Before Ken quite knew what was happening, the older engines had scrambled to one side of the yard in a fan shape looking towards the tree. After sharing a baffled look with Jacques, the twins and Lizable slotted themselves on the end and spotted a pop up platform that hadn't been there this morning, facing the tree and the house but sheltered by the nearby buildings and covered with chairs.  
Indeed, it was only a few minutes before Irenia's whistle was heard long and loud as she approached, echoing around with the rattling and singing of the coaches behind her. She pulled in alongside the platform to let the children and their parents off, although it wasn't dark enough to turn the lights on apparently as she shunted the coaches around behind the platform before returning to the kids, her and her crew letting them climb in her cab and pull the chord for her whistle, soon being joined by Harlon surprisingly enough. This left the rest of them to chat, and chat they did.  
Darkness fell quickly and finally Irenia and Harlon were told to move away and slipped back in with their siblings. All of their crews came down and sat on the fronts of their respective engines to watch as well.  
"Are you excited yet?" Ken's fireman asked him.  
"I can't wait!" Ken beamed.  
"Remember that you helped make it happen this year." His driver was serious for a moment.  
"The children will love you forever." His fireman joked.  
Ken laughed along but didn't get to respond to them as the small generator for the tree was turned on with a roar by a rather proud looking Alexander, who had spent all day fixing it. Like clockwork, all the attention was on the Benally family and especially on Kojak as he was the man holding the button. The children in particular were very excited and Ken could certainly feel it too. With encouragement from the younger Benallys, the yard was alive with the sound of counting voices from engines and humans, old and young alike.  
"Five!"  
"Four!"  
"Three!"  
"Two!"  
"One!"  
Kojak pressed the button and the tree rapidly lit up from bottom to top in the tight swirls that Sophia had laid and when it hit the top, the star burst into life with sparkles and jets of light bursting from each tip, Ken's eyes only widening as the light display continued. The lights up the tree twinkled like stars in swirls and the star pulsated like it was growing and bursting into sprinkles of light down the guide ropes to the ground. Finally, the light display settled, the lights running up the tree twinkling gently as if they were stars in the sky and the star on top of the tree pulsating as if it was expanding and contracting again, almost like a beating heart.  
Kojak took a bow in front of the children with his family before taking a microphone out of his pocket and addressing everyone gathered.  
"Merry Christmas everyone!"


	3. 2: New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions

Even in the holidays, the Benally Railroad was alive with activity as it always was and that didn't look set to change as the new year approached. Having calmed down over being fooled by the size of the tree, Jacques soon found something else to be unhappy about and that was his family's latest attempt at making a tradition.  
"Come on Jacques, there's got to be something you want to improve on!" Irenia protested as the two engines sat waiting for their trucks to be filled in Kenai mine.  
"You can improve in keeping your smokebox out of the clouds!" Jacques snapped back.  
"You two could resolve to argue less?" Edrick suggested a little tensely as he rolled in with a line of empty trucks behind him.  
"Yeah, you're probably right." Irenia agreed, even though Jacques huffed the suggestion off. "What's your New Year's Resolution, Edrick?"  
"To stop disattaching myself from you all so easily." Edrick sighed. "Alexander says I'm getting as bad as Oliver when you all kick off."  
"Well, it has been rough this last month or so." Irenia admitted.  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jacques glared between the two. He, Ken and Lizable had been on the line around a month now but he didn't think that they had been much trouble.  
"When you introduce a big group into another, it's going to cause problems." Edrick stated matter-of-factly. "Apparently introducing Clarabelle and Danielle to Ace and Bertam went as well as you'd expect it to."  
"We haven't been that much trouble!" Jacques protested, starting to feel his boiler pressure rise.  
"Just Ken running into the coal store and clogging himself up for several days..." Irenia started.  
"And you complaining about the tree after being so insistent on getting it..." Edrick added.  
"Lizable missing random stops on the off-grid supply line..." Irenia continued.  
"Alright, you've made your point!" Jacques raised his voice but brought it back down when they stopped. "You say that like either of you two are perfect. You're always away with the fairies and you think you're so high and mighty."  
"At least we're working on our faults, unlike some." Irenia retorted.  
"Why is everyone yelling?" Ken slunk in with his own train of empty trucks as he looked at the others with wide eyes.  
"We're not. Just Edrick and Irenia preaching about how us three are terrible because we're not perfect at everything yet." Jacques grumbled.  
"Neither of us said that." Edrick took a firm tone with Jacques as Irenia rolled her eyes and puffed away with filled trucks, the older engine shunting around to take her place.  
"It's what you meant though." Jacques had already been rubbed up the wrong way and wasn't calming down anytime soon. He ignored the sound of his crew responding to the radio in his cab.  
"I didn't mean to run into the coal store, it was an accident..." Ken genuinely looked ashamed and Jacques knew it was an accident, and his fault if anything, but he wasn't about to admit it.  
"Of course you didn't." Edrick tried to sound empathetic, but it wasn't working on either of the twins. "It was an accident."  
"Still think we should put our coal elsewhere." Jacques snorted. "Like in the yard, not at that junction where trucks and engines keep bouncing off it."  
"Subject of the yard, Control says we need to head over at our earliest convenience." Jacques' driver interrupted quickly before Edrick could argue more.  
""Our earliest convenience"?" Jacques questioned.  
"As soon as we get this load of ore taken." His driver answered.  
Jacques never got to respond to that as the chute was opened to fill the last of his trucks. As soon as it was safe to do so, his crew set the train off away from the mine to the drop off point.

Jacques' mood hadn't improved when he rolled into the yard at Evelyn's summons, even less so when he found Ace sat outside the workshop with the breakdown train and most of the Benallys crowded around too.  
"What's happening?" Jacques sighed as he rolled over.  
"Lizable snapped an axle on something. Be kind." Alexander told him in a firm tone.  
Jacques only got more irritated, being reminded of Edrick and rolling forward to see what had happened. Lizable had indeed snapped an axle, her front-most leading wheels, like she had hit a rock at full speed. She had been lifted in the air and the broken axle had been dropped, although it had collapsed in on itself sadly and some workers were starting to remove it. From the crane, Lizable looked like she had been crying, and her two coaches were watching in with concern, as was Ace.  
"Jacques, glad you managed to get down here so fast." Evelyn turned to the engine as soon as he looked in. "We need you to take the supplies out to the off-gridders."  
"Why me?" Jacques protested, eyeing Bear and Wolf angrily and they eyed him back wearily. "I hate coaches. They're far too fussy."  
"Because you were the next available engine between drop offs." Evelyn told him, looking a little cross herself.  
"Hey, it's alright, I'll do it." Ace offered. "I need a break from the mines."  
"No, that won't be necessary, Jacques will do it." Kojak held a hand up to silence the biggest engine.  
"It don't know where I'm going or where to stop!" Jacques protested. "Get Genny, it's her route too!"  
"It was my route once too." Ace interrupted again. "Please, let me do it while he can get back to the mine."  
Kojak sighed, seeming to finally give in to the two engines.  
"Alright, alright, Ace, you can take Bear and Wolf out." Kojak sighed. "You can take some machinery to Seacoal and resume work there when he's gone."  
"Why not Kenai? I was there before!" Jacques protested.  
"Fallon has been moved there." Kojak answered. "And that's final. Your train is over there."  
With a gesture to a small train of pumping machines, Kojak and Evelyn turned away and began to go back towards the house while their kids went into the workshop with Lizable, Sophia to calm her and Oliver and Alexander to continue work.  
"How are you doing up there?" Sophia asked, Lizable's only reply being a whimper.  
"You're a few feet off the ground, what are you afraid of?" Jacques asked, rolling his eyes as his sister's eyes began to water again.  
"Jacques, stop that!" Oliver of all people was quick to wheel on the engine, even though he was trying to help in his own roundabout way. "You're not helping. Go get your train and leave."  
"Gotta wait for Kojak's pet over there." Jacques responded, looking over at Ace as he backed down onto the two coaches.  
"He's trying to make himself more helpful." Oliver responded flatly. "Maybe you should do the same."  
"Not this resolution stuff again." Jacques groaned.  
"Why not? We're all making one." Sophia joined her brother briefly. "I'm going to start helping out in the workshop more."  
"Nothing could go wrong there." Jacques responded sarcastically.  
"At least she's trying." Ace told Jacques before he left with the two coaches.  
Jacques looked away, grumbling some unpleasant things under his breath. At the same time, he saw Harlon in the sheds. The engine was normally asleep at this time but had probably been disturbed by the commotion.  
_"At least I'm not a night owl like him."_ Jacques thought.

Jacques finally made it to Seacoal mine with the pumps, finding Clarabelle and Danielle handling one set of trucks in and out of the area and Bertam handling more off to another side on a raised line, the railroad's own supply Jacques assumed. However, what Jacques didn't see was any reason for him to be there.  
"Hey Jacques, come and take these trains over for a little while so we can get cleaned up!" Clarabelle called over.  
"You're really thinking about your appearance right now?" Jacques responded, being unhooked from his own train.  
"Of course I am!" Clarabelle huffed. "Can't work at my best if I'm all dirty!"  
Out of the corner of his eye, Jacques could see Bertam sighing along with him and it made him more bold.  
"Someone should do research on how much time you two waste on getting cleaned in a day." Jacques continued when Danielle began eyeing the opportunity to get out as well.  
"They should do research on how much hot air you produce." Clarabelle retorted. "Bet it'd stop global warming if you stayed quiet."  
"Clarabelle, sooner you go, the sooner I can go too." Danielle encouraged.  
"You're looking to skip off work too?" Jacques huffed.  
"No, I'm trying to keep work going." Danielle told him.  
"You're the one stopping work, sitting there arguing." Bertam voiced from the higher line.  
"I thought you didn't like their obsessive girly cleanliness!" Jacques called back.  
"That's neither here nor there." Bertam answered as coolly as ever. "What I don't like is this all holding the mine up."  
Jacques began to fume again as Clarabelle left and he was directed onto the end of her train. Her rather long train. Longer than the ones he was dealing with in Kenai and he didn't see why they needed to be that long either. It was just a little too much effort to start moving with it, let alone stopping and starting for each one to be filled and then dragging them out the mine as well. Bertam was clearly watching from above, as his own trucks were taking a long time to fill with whatever specific cargo he was hauling, and Danielle rushed out as soon as Clarabelle returned.  
"I feel so much better now." Clarabelle beamed to Jacques as she took over Danielle's train. "Maybe you should go for a wash too."  
"I want to actually be useful, not vain." Jacques huffed.  
"Suit yourself." Clarabelle chuckled as Jacques went to take another train out.  
Bertam continued to watch as Jacques and Clarabelle cycled in and out and when Danielle returned, he finally spoke up.  
"Make three trains. It'll be more efficient." Bertam told them.  
"Who left you in charge?" Jacques grumbled.  
"Common sense." Bertam answered. "Make three trains and you won't struggle as much."  
"I'm not struggling!" Jacques snapped.  
"Just do it." Bertam commanded.  
Jacques couldn't argue as his crew were in control and as he was the smallest engine there, he was the one tasked with the shunting and left to wait while his train was refilled, meaning Clarabelle and Danielle were able to get their trains out and chatter happily about something Jacques didn't care to hear about and he was left to stew under the judgemental eye of Bertam.

Jacques was first to be let go from Seacoal mine that evening, much to his relief, and the engine was ready to roll into the yard, go to his corner of the shed and fall asleep. Unfortunately, it was never going to be that simple as he didn't even need to get into the yard to hear Genny and Fallon sat under the nearest water tower with Eveyln and Sophia. Kojak, Alexander and Oliver were evidently still in the workshop as the lights were on and Ace was in the doorway talking to them and Lizable.  
"Hey, Jacques, why the long face?" Genny called over.  
"Please don't. I've been with Clarabelle and Danielle all afternoon." Jacques grumbled. "And _they_ think I'm full of hot air."  
"I mean, they're not that wrong you know." Genny snickered.  
"Oh, will you shut up!" Jacques finally snapped. "You're no better! Either of you!"  
"Jacques!" Evelyn, Sophia and Fallon protested all at once, although Evelyn was certainly more angry than the others. Genny looked like she was about to burst with rage.  
"Listen here you-"  
"Genny, resolution." Fallon gently warned.  
"To stop being so hot headed, I know." Genny calmed a little with a wheesh from her sides, but she was still glaring at Jacques. "You should do the same. Or start being less of a pain in the funnel to everyone."  
"I don't need to make a New Year's Resolution." Jacques rolled his eyes. "I'm fine as I am."  
"You forget how things spread around here." Evelyn said.  
"What do you mean?" Jacques eyed them wearily.  
"Well, we were there when you were mean to Lizable about being on the crane." Evelyn started.  
"And when you called Ace dad's pet." Sophia added.  
"I ran into Bertam when he was bringing some coal over to our supply hole." Genny continued. "He told me about how you didn't want to split the train up so it was easier for all of you."  
"Not for him, he spent most of the day sat up top." Jacques huffed. "And I wasn't struggling to pull it. There was no need for three engines down there."  
"It sounded quite efficient when it started up." Evelyn inputted. "One of you coming in just as the other left and another was dropping it off at the drop."  
"Only because the train was shorter." Jacques huffed.  
"Well, when I got to Kenai, Irenia and Edrick weren't full of praise for you either." Fallon added. "They told me about how you twisted Edrick's words. Ken is still upset."  
Jacques went quiet, his mouth opening and closing a few times. He never meant to upset his little brother. He never did.  
"You should apologise to them all." Evelyn prompted gently and Jacques' face scrunched up again in an instant.  
"There's nothing to apologise for." He answered with a scowl. "Edrick said I was causing problems when I wasn't and Bertam was acting like he was the boss. They should apologise to me."  
Jacques had had enough and reversed into the shed, into his usual corner where Ken and Lizable would sit and sleep in front of him at nighttime. He hadn't been there long when another engine rolled sheepishly in and began to reverse into the shed as well. On the line directly in front of him and jolting Jacques completely awake in surprise.  
"Ken! Watch where you're going!" Jacques called, and his twin brother stopped dead where he was.  
"Sorry Jac." Ken responded, sounding as mopey as Fallon described. "Why didn't you come back? Why did Fallon come?"  
"I got assigned to Kenai instead." Jacques rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going out with the coaches."  
Ken didn't say anything for several moments, allowing Jacques just enough time to think he could have a nap before the others came back.  
"Jacques, what's your New Year's Resolution?" Ken asked.  
"I don't know." Jacques sighed irritably.  
"I was thinking about what you and Edrick said this morning. About us three being more trouble than we're worth and me running into the coal store." Ken continued.  
"Forget what Edrick said, he's full of hot air-"  
"I want to be a better engine." Ken didn't let Jacques finish what he was saying. "Be useful, no more accidents and make everyone proud of me."  
"We are proud of you." Jacques told Ken.  
"But you haven't had any accidents yet! I want to be like you!"  
Jacques was stunned into silence, looking at the end of his twin's tender with wide eyes. He silently vowed to be more supportive of his siblings, especially Ken.


	4. 3: The Founding Party

The Founding Party

The next celebration of the Benally Railroad came along while the Christmas tree was still stood next to the Benally's house. Every year, on the third of January, the engines and the Benallys took the evening and as much of the afternoon as possible off to spend time with each other down in the yard, with Kojak threatening that since all twelve siblings were now together the family was going to do something special to celebrate.  
Irenia had been assigned to Seacoal mine that day, alongside Bertam, Genny and Lizable, although the latter two getting on like a house on fire was no good for either Irenia or Bertam's patience and both had escaped as early as they could, even though they were now left waiting in the yard for a while before anyone else came down. Evelyn was still operating as control from the house, Oliver and Alexander had gone to help Edrick for a reason Irenia couldn't remember and Sophia was doing something else around the house with Kojak that Irenia couldn't see from where she was sat in the sheds. She and Bertam had been left to simmer while their crews chattered in Bertam's cab about something else Irenia couldn't work out. She got very bored very fast.  
"Hey, Bertam, history is your kind of thing." Irenia spoke up, despite Bertam's barely audible groan when she did so. "What do you know about the history of this place?"  
"Depends on what you mean." Bertam answered, doing his best to sound uninterested.  
"Anything you can tell me!" Irenia grinned.  
"Well, I know Evelyn was born up here and moved down to Oregon with her siblings to find work." Bertam started. "She's still got some relatives in Williamson I think, nieces and nephews and cousins and whatnot-"  
"And Kojak?" Irenia asked.  
"He was born in Oregon. Into a railroading family, as they're called." Bertam continued.  
"What do you mean by that?" Irenia looked at him questioningly.  
"Means his family have worked on railroads for multiple generations." Bertam explained. "For Kojak, I think it goes back to his great-great-grandfather, but Kojak was caring for some display engines when he met Evelyn."  
"Display engines?" Irenia was only getting more confused. "As in engines on display?"  
"Yes. In an amusement park." Bertam responded, giving the verbal equivalent of a shrug when Irenia looked at him in disbelief. "I don't know either, it's just what they've told me. Apparently the engines are in a museum now."  
"And that's what inspired him to build this railroad and us?" Irenia asked.  
"Not quite." Bertam answered, before rolling forward a little and shouting towards the house. "Kojak, do you have that picture?"  
"What picture?" Kojak called back nervously after a moment.  
"The one of Elgin and his crew." Bertam responded.  
"Oh, that one!" Kojak responded, his nerves turning to excitement instantly and he was soon coming over. Irenia could hear that he was practically running over to them. When he got to the shed, he quickly opened his wallet and produced an old, tattered photograph and showed it to Bertam.  
"Show Irenia, she was asking about the history of the railroad." Bertam responded a little flatly.  
"Oh, of course." Kojak responded, soon making his way over to Irenia and showing the photo to her.  
The photo was printed out on ordinary paper rather than glossy photograph paper and had been folded so many times down the same lines that the ink had worn away, leaving long white streaks up the centre and across the middle, but the image was clear. It featured a male steam engine sat on a wooden bridge against a forest backdrop, an old-american looking steam engine with dark paintwork that was mostly plain but had some lighter patterning on his cylinders, headlamp and domes as well as "46" on his cab sides. The engine's huge headlamp was overshadowed by the massive spark catcher stretching well above his cab even, hiding a bell on the engine's boiler as well as two broad domes, one sat neatly on the middle of the engine's boiler with it's pretty patterning and the other right in front of his cab with his safety valve on top, which in the photo was releasing a fair amount of steam. Like the siblings, he had four leading wheels and four driving wheels behind a large cowcatcher, although his was fixed on, and long railings along his side that stretched over all his wheels, including the small platforms or guards above his driving wheels. His numbering was just above these guards on the side of his cab, making it look like the engine's cab was truly that high up for just a moment, but what surprised Irenia the most was the fact that his cab had opening windows, the forward facing cab window was wide open and practically bouncing off the engine's boiler and the side window was open too as a sliding panel. The engine was also towing a train behind it, although only one closed box truck could be seen in the picture. There were several people in the picture too; a smartly dressed man with a bowler hat was leant against the engine's tender, a man in a more formal looking railroad uniform not too dissimilar to the ones the Benally Railroad used with a thick hat and an equally thick beard was stood by the engine's driving wheels, a man in overalls stood at the edge of the cab with an arm on the tender's side and another man sat on top of the boxcar in a similar uniform to the second.  
"He looks like us!" Irenia commented. "Kind of, anyway."  
"Of course, you're all modelled after him!" Kojak responded. "His name was Elgin, that picture was taken on his maiden trip with Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company-"  
"Why him?" Irenia asked, starting to interrupt again in her curiosity.  
"Because that's my great-great-grandfather there." Kojak responded, pointing to the man stood at the edge of Elgin's cab. "Elgin was his favourite and he managed to get his son's training, my great-grandfather's training, started on him before he was sold on."  
"Sold onto where?" Irenia asked.  
"Columbia and Nehalem Valley Railroad." Kojak answered. "Retired some years later."  
"You mean scrapped." Bertam and Irenia retorted simultaneously, Bertam matter-of-factly and Irenia a little more sarcastically. Irenia had to give Bertam a second take, but Bertam was only looking at Kojak and his picture.  
"Well, that's what we think." Kojak sounded defeated. "The line closed less than ten years after he was sold over and all the engines were scrapped as far as anyone knows. Which is a shame."  
"Yes, it is." Bertam and Irenia responded at the same time again, Bertam almost emotionless and Irenia feeling as sad as Kojak was.  
"How do you keep doing that?" Irenia asked her brother.  
"I'm not doing it intentionally." Bertam responded.  
"You don't even sound sad at the sound of your parent being scrapped." Irenia retorted.  
"Please don't call him that." Bertam sighed. "We were designed after him, yes, but we've never met him and we're quite different under the paint you know."  
"Isn't it the right term? A child design produced from a parent design?" Irenia argued.  
"Ask the big twins, they're the ones in to all the design stuff." Bertam responded coolly.  
Irenia went silent with an annoyed wheesh of steam for a total of ten seconds before another thought entered her smoke box.  
"Hey, Kojak, who designed us?" Irenia asked.  
She got no response for several moments as Kojak had gone.  
"He went as soon as you started arguing with me." Bertam stated. "And he's just told you, he designed us."  
"He has no eye for art." Irenia snorted. "And we were all painted before we came here, so it can't be Clara and Dani."  
"How do you know that?" Bertam questioned.  
"Ace said so when I got here." Irenia retorted.  
"Of course he did." Bertam grumbled, but was largely ignored by Irenia.  
"Well? Who designed all the paint schemes and our nameplates with all the symbols and stuff?" Irenia asked.  
"Ask Ace when he gets in." Bertam replied. "I'm not having this conversation another year in a row."  
"Every year?" Irenia asked.  
"Every year." Bertam confirmed.  
"That's what you get for knowing history." Irenia teased.  
Bertam gave no reply as Genny and Lizable started asking him questions instead from her other side.

Eventually, the engines assigned to Hjelm mine came back to the yard. Ace was towing Edrick, whose fire had been dropped, and Fallon and Jacques followed. Edrick was being battered on three sides, Ace doing his big brotherly duties of telling Edrick _exactly_ where he went wrong as he had done it before, Fallon fussing endlessly over him and Jacques outright mocking him. Surprisingly, Edrick was keeping a straight face over this, even as Ace shunted him into the shed. Lizable and Genny soon pulled Jacques and Fallon over to them respectively to give him some space, but Irenia couldn't suppress her curiosity and rolled back to Edrick, alongside Bertam.  
"What happened to you?" Bertam asked.  
"Blockage in the water pipe between my tender and my boiler." Edrick sighed. "Don't know how or why it happened, but, you know, protocol is protocol."  
"Too right." Bertam replied. "Remember when it happened to Harlon when he was on his maintenance train?"  
Irenia had already tuned out, not interested in Bertam and Edrick discussing the rules again. Obviously, Ace had the same train of thought and she could see him roll his eyes.  
"Hey, Ace." Irenia rolled her way over to him. "Do you know who designed us?"  
"Kojak." Ace responded. "Why?"  
"You're trying to tell me Kojak designed our paint schemes?" Irenia asked, half laughing. "There's a reason Evelyn and Sophia do all the decorating, you know."  
"Oh, right, Sophia did all that." Ace chuckled. "It was Kojak's way of saying welcome to the family I think."  
"Why would he do that?" Irenia asked.  
"Because it was about that time that she was adopted?" Ace replied slowly, although realisation promptly dawned on his face. "Oh, right, no one is meant to know that."  
"Why not?" Irenia responded, a little louder than she should have as she could feel Bertam and Edrick's gazes on her like lasers.  
"Kojak didn't want her to be treated differently from Alexander or Oliver by anyone else." Ace explained. "And I really shouldn't have said anything, so please don't tell."  
"I won't, I won't, but I never would have guessed." Irenia responded, mildly stunned by the revelation. "She would have been like nine?"  
"Sounds about right." Ace confirmed. "Alexander and Oliver thought he was mad, but it turned out alright."  
"True." Irenia had to agree with that.  
However, after a few moments, Irenia had to go and find Sophia and have several questions answered. She found the young woman with Kojak beside the house again, although the sounds of her approaching made both of them hurriedly throw a sheet over whatever it was they were working on.  
"Ace said you did our paint schemes." Irenia called up to Sophia.  
"Y-Yes?" Sophia stuttered back.  
"Why?" Irenia asked.  
"What do you mean why?" Kojak retorted tensely. "Because I let her."  
"But why did you choose this?" Irenia responded.  
"Oh." Sophia responded. The young woman was nudged by Kojak and she came down to Irenia, leaving Kojak to work on whatever he was working on. "Well, what do you want to know?"  
"I get the black base, keeping it professional looking, and I get that we each have unique colours so it can all be colour coded and what not." Irenia began. "But why the gold, silver and bronze?"  
"You were all ordered in three batches of four." Sophia responded, confused that Irenia didn't know this. "Ace, Bertam, Clara and Dani were the first batch with the gold lining, Edrick, Fallon, Genny and Harlon were the second batch with silver lining and-"  
"I was in the third batch with the triplets and bronze, got it." Irenia responded. "How did you decide what colours to give us?"  
"Dad was always in contact with the builders, telling him about you as you were built and showed what you were like. I based your colours and nameplate symbols from that." Sophia explained. "Did you know Clara was nearly forest green, like Edrick is now, with a leaf for her symbol?"  
"There is no way she'd have that." Irenia laughed. "It suits most of us."  
"Most?" Sophia asked.  
"Well, Ace having Aces is self explanatory, Clara has a heart because she's so girly, Dani has a sun because she's always so bright, Edrick a shield because he's protective, Fallon a flower because she loves nature, a spark for Genny as that's what she is, a crescent for Harlon because he's a night owl, stars for Jacques and Ken but one extra point for Jacques as he's the boss and a snowflake for Lizable as she's so delicate." Irenia said. "But I don't understand why Bertam has a cloud and I have a wheel."  
"Have you ever seen Bertam loose his temper?" Sophia responded. "I thought he was kind of cool and free flowing, like a cloud floating across the sky. And you never seemed to stop moving while you were being built."  
Irenia couldn't argue with that because she had never stopped moving as soon as she was steamed up. She wanted to get out of that workshop very, very badly, fed up of being tided down while they worked on her.  
"Is that all of your questions? I should really be getting back to dad." Sophia questioned.  
"Yeah, sure." Irenia responded as she mulled over her experience in the builders' workshop.  
Sophia wasted no time at all in getting back to Kojak as Irenia backed into the shed again, stopping wordlessly beside Ace.  
"Did you see what they were working on up there?" Ace asked for most of the rest of the engines. Everyone in the shed except Bertam and Edrick in fact.  
"No, they covered it as soon as I approached." Irenia responded, to a chorus of disappointment.  
"We'll see it as soon as the others get back." Bertam spoke up, which let the chatter in the shed return to normal levels.

Irenia was starting to get frustrated when the others finally came back, Clara and Dani heading the fleet as they did when they worked together and Harlon and Ken keeping a mutual silence between each other. This was promptly broken when Ken and Jacques landed eyes on each other and rushed to each other like they hadn't seen each other in years.  
The others settled in as Kojak walked across the yard to the newly constructed wooden arch over the entrance to the yard from the big line. When the man spotted them looking at him, he waved the engines to come after him, which is what they did. Kojak covered himself and a bit of the arch with the sheet from before as he affixed something to it, Evelyn and the kids coming to join the gathering.  
"So, since all twelve of you are here together at a founding day for the first time, I went ahead and got something made." Kojak explained. "Are you ready to see this?"  
"Yes!" Was the response from the crowd.  
With a dramatic flourish, Kojak pulled away the sheet to reveal a shiny, brand new plaque on the side of the arch, covered in writing and drawings. The top left corner and lower right corner had a picture of an engine in full working steam, the latter Irenia recognised as Elgin and the former was in their spark-catcher-less, one domed, no belled, cowcatcher-converted-to-snowplowed and headlamp-less design. Beside their design was writing saying "Benally Railroad - Opened Monday 3rd January". Below that was more writing about the engines in their respective colours and their symbols either side of their respective lines.  
"Ace - Built Wednesday 24th March 1999, Arrived Saturday 1st January 2000  
Bertam - Built Wednesday 31st January 2001, Arrived Sunday 25th March 2001  
Clarabelle - Built Saturday 22nd December 2001, Arrived Tuesday 1st January 2002  
Danielle - Built Saturday 22nd December 2001, Arrived Tuesday 1st January 2002  
Edrick - Built Thursday 30th October 2003, Arrived Wednesday 3rd December 2003  
Fallon - Built Saturday 10th July 2004, Arrived Sunday 15th August 2004  
Genny - Built Thursday 14th April 2005, Arrived Tuesday 31st May 2005  
Harlon - Built Thursday 2nd February 2006, Arrived Saturday 25th March 2006  
Irenia - Built Tuesday 25th November 2008, Arrived Thursday 25th December 2008  
Jacques - Built Tuesday 1st September 2009, Arrived Sunday 1st November 2009  
Ken - Built Tuesday 1st September 2009, Arrived Sunday 1st November 2009  
Lizable - Built Tuesday 1st September 2009, Arrived Sunday 1st November 2009"  
Irenia looked over at a very smug Kojak as Bertam commented on it.  
"Very nice." Bertam said. "Did you do it yourself?"  
"I did!" Kojak responded with a big grin, until Evelyn gently elbowed him. "Well, Sophia helped."  
"Sure, just helped." Alexander chuckled.  
"Well, I think it and the arch are very nice." Fallon told Kojak as Jacques and Ken started snickering too. "It's nice to have something to commemorate all twelve of us being on the railroad together."  
"Oh, you think that's the end of it?" Kojak chuckled. "Wait until it gets a bit darker, you'll want to be over looking the arch for this one."  
It wasn't too long until it was what Kojak considered dark enough and all the engines were fanned out in the yard, facing the arch as requested, and Evelyn and Sophia were sat among the engines too. Irenia was sat between Harlon and Jacques, the latter chattering away to Ken and Harlon as quiet as ever as Kojak, Oliver and Alexander went out beyond the entrance with boxes.  
Before Irenia was quite ready, there was a whistling sound as a jet of light shot into the sky before bursting into bright sparkles with a bang and crackles. This red light was followed by blue, pink, yellow, green, purple, white and orange lights at an ever increasing rate, lighting up the sky like thousands of stars.  
As Irenia watched the fireworks, she knew that this was home.


	5. 4: Romantic or Not

Romantic or Not

The biting cold was finally starting to lift a little from the Benally Railroad as time rolled on and the engines' routines started to settle again. It was also at this time that Sophia started spending lots of time with the engines, Fallon in particular, much to Harlon's annoyance as he always ended up near them in the shed when it was otherwise fairly quiet and it was always - _always_ \- girl talk.  
However, Harlon managed to keep a lid on it up until one morning. That morning he had been assigned to Kenai mine alongside Ace, Bertam and Fallon, and due to machine faults, their shift started late. This meant that not only was Sophia in the shed with Fallon, Alexander was in the shed as well, talking to Ace and Bertam with a magazine in hand.  
"Fallon, I don't know what to do." Sophia could be heard talking to Fallon away from the boys, although Harlon could hear them anyway. "I like him, but I don't know how he feels."  
"You seem to be good friends with him." Fallon tried to soothe the anxious young woman. "Have you tried talking to him about it?"  
"I can't do that!" Sophia protested. "I don't want to make it all awkward and loose him as a friend if it goes wrong."  
"But you don't want him to get with that other girl either." Fallon responded calmly. "If you want him, you're going to have to say something."  
Harlon had already had enough, not caring to hear Sophia's protests and rolled over to his brothers. The two engines and Alexander looked at him when he did so, annoying Harlon a little at being singled out, but he was brought into the conversation nonetheless.  
"Hey, Harlon, have you seen this?" Alexander pointed out a specific article. "Some guy has made a railroad that goes in and out of Alaska and Canada like a rat out of a hole!"  
"Huh." Harlon commented as he looked at the article. As well as interviews from the owner, some staff and even some of the engines, there were pictures of the engines and trains and even a small map of the current and planned lines.  
"Do you think they'll try and get permission to run down our line to the port?" Ace questioned.  
"I wouldn't be surprised." Bertam responded. "They've already made it to Rampart House from Little Gold. It won't be too long before they go past Alcan and decide to expand into our land."  
"You think dad would let him run the line?" Alexander responded, starting to look a little nervous.  
"If he could pay enough, I don't see why he wouldn't." Bertam stated coolly. "Or run the line alongside us at least."  
Harlon had to admit he did see where his brother was coming from. The picture of the owner printed in the magazine rubbed him up the wrong way, getting the feeling that he was not used to being told no and was the kind of man to just throw money at his problems, judging by the size of what was meant to be a fairly new railroad.  
"I think he'd expand into Canada more first, you know, with Little Gold being in Canada and his company being a Canadian company." Oliver suddenly inputted, striding crossly into the sheds but mostly glaring at his brother. "I admire him though."  
"Him and his ragtag fleet of engines?" Alexander responded in mild disbelief. "Please."  
"Collecting engines heading for scrap like that works." Oliver argued. "Just look at Sodor's North Western Railway. That railroad has a fleet of over eighty engines, engines saved from scrap or being put in a museum."  
"At least we're made for this line. Can't say that about that lot." Ace scoffed.  
Harlon said nothing, only looking at the magazine again. Indeed, there seemed to be both American and Canadian engines in the fleet and they seemed to get along just fine, although he had to wonder for a moment if that was because all of the engines on this Border Railroad were all male.  
"There's nothing wrong with giving engines second chances." Fallon inputted into the conversation before Ace and Oliver tore each other apart. "As long as they're happy there, I don't see why it's a problem."  
"You would say that." Oliver grumbled to himself.  
Harlon had no desire at all to participate in this argument. Instead, he returned to looking over at the magazine, blocking everything else out and actually reading the article, wondering what this other railroad was like.  
"Do you see something you like?" Sophia suddenly asked, making Harlon jump a little.  
"I was just reading." Harlon stated, but the gooey, sappy look on her face combined with everyone else now looking at him just made Harlon go bright red.  
"You like those engines?" Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"I mean, I guess." Harlon began tripping over his own words and going redder from embarrassment.  
"Well, I guess they're kind of cute." Fallon grinned over at Harlon.  
"No no no, it's bad enough having Sophia being starry eyed over a guy." Alexander protested, although Fallon and Sophia only shared a look of amusement.  
"I'm glad you're all siblings so there's no dating drama and we don't have to deal with Valentines Day over here." Oliver sighed, taking his magazine back and walking away. "Mom and dad get gooey enough at this time of year."  
"Ouch, who hurt him?" Ace asked jokingly.  
"That girl from Williamson that runs the pet store with her father." Alexander answered seriously, startling the engines.  
"Well, I have to admit I'm glad we don't have to deal with romance either." Bertam sighed. "Being around you lot is messy enough for me."  
"Same here." Alexander chuckled, elbowing his sister playfully when she protested.  
"Alright, let's go see if Kenai is up and running yet." Ace urgently inputted when both Bertam and Fallon opened their mouths to speak with some very strong emotions all over their faces.  
Despite not receiving any official word, Harlon was only too happy to go and urgently followed after his oldest brother.

Harlon soon found himself back in the shed, but at least this time he was on his own. His siblings were all at work, the yard was peaceful with a breeze whistling through and his crew had put the heaters on so he could nap in warmth. Having a nap was just what Harlon intended to do until the crews' door to the shed opened and Sophia looked inside.  
"Hey, Fal- Oh." Sophia cut herself off mid sentence when Harlon cast her a very unimpressed glare. "Sorry, I thought it was Fallon that had come back."  
"No, it was me." Harlon replied curtly. "The others will be there until the shift ends, I was sent back because I'm on the maintenance train tonight. Line for Fallon's tours needs fixing."  
"I see." Sophia responded. However, the girl looked like she was about to burst and couldn't suppress a beaming smile the more she hung around in the shed. Harlon sighed, knowing he had to admit defeat and delay his nap.  
"Alright, what's going on?" Harlon begrudgingly asked, internally regretting asking about coming back when he found the mine not working at full power, as Sophia's expression lit up in girlish glee.  
"He asked me on a date with him on Valentine's Day!" Sophia beamed. "He's making dinner and everything!"  
"The guy you've had a crush on for over a year now?" Harlon asked emotionlessly.  
"Yes! Ben!" Sophia responded in exasperation. "But get this, _he_ asked _me_!"  
"Did you tell him you liked him?" Harlon was almost amused at the range of emotions one girl had in her.  
"Well, yes." Sophia started to blush. "But I had to do it over text, he was at work the whole time, so he didn't respond for ages and I was getting really worried and then he just responded with "Would you like to have dinner with me on Valentine's Day?"!"  
"That's... random." Harlon answered slowly. It was such a sudden question that Harlon couldn't not feel slightly suspicious and Sophia picked up on it immediately.  
"Harlon, it's fine. He really wants me to come to dinner." Sophia reassured him, not that he needed reassuring. "He was asking about what food I like and what time I could get there."  
"You should let Kojak take you." Harlon stated.  
"Harlon! I'm eighteen!" Sophia laughed. "And since when were you the overprotective big brother?"  
Harlon had to pull a face at that. Ace was always the overprotective big brother of his siblings, unsurprising since he was the oldest, but the less parallels that could be drawn between the two of them, the better in his opinion.  
"You mean that Oliver and Alexander aren't?" Harlon asked.  
"Oliver? Not a chance!" Sophia laughed. "And I still think Ace is practically the engine version of Alexander."  
Harlon hummed his agreement to that statement, it probably wasn't wrong. With nothing more to say, he let things go quiet and closed his eyes to sleep.  
"Hey, Harlon, you still thinking about those other engines?" Sophia asked with a certain look in her eyes.  
"Depends what you mean by that." Harlon sighed.  
"Well, you were very interested in Oliver's magazine earlier." Sophia teased.  
"Because the rest of you were bickering and I don't want to get dragged into that." Harlon answered. "And I guess I'm a little curious about other the railroads too."  
"Curious about other railroads?" Sophia echoed.  
"I've never been anywhere that isn't here or the workshop." Harlon reasoned.  
"What about meeting other engines?" Sophia grinned.  
"I guess." Harlon answered, but he could feel Sophia staring at him.  
"You could meet a nice lady engine." Sophia encouraged. "Or a nice boy engine, you never know."  
"I don't know." Harlon sighed.  
"You don't?" Sophia asked, now pulling herself up and sitting on Harlon's front. "You've never thought about who you'd like to spend your life with?"  
"I'm a steam engine, we don't do all that marriage and dating stuff you do." Harlon shifted uncomfortably.  
"But if you were a human, who would you spend your life with?" Sophia continued.  
"I don't know. Ask one of the girls. Or Ace." Harlon grumbled.  
"You know your taste in others better than any of us." Sophia pushed more.  
"Debatable." Harlon grumbled.  
"You really have no idea what kind of person you'd fall in love with?" Sophia looked shocked.  
"No. None of us do." Harlon was finally starting to loose his cool. "Especially us boys who aren't into all the girl talk you're having with Fallon."  
"I know exactly what kind of engines you'd all fall for!" Sophia proclaimed with a laugh.  
"If I let you tell me, will you let me sleep?" Harlon grumbled.  
"Fine, fine, I will. I'll go harass Alexander or Oliver instead." Sophia laughed, holding her hands up in defence.  
"Get on with it then." Harlon sighed.  
"Well, Ace would need someone to keep him on his toes, sassy and passionate." Sophia threw herself into her ideas, clearly having put too much thought into any of this. "Bertam would like a soft, nerdy type. Clarabelle and Danielle would totally get with twins, or at least brothers, boyish but not really massively manly. Edrick would go for a placid, girly girl, amazed by everything around her, while Fallon would definitely like the tall, dark and handsome type. Genny would like someone quieter and calmer than her but focused as well. Irenia really needs grounding, but they'd need a sense of humour too. Jacques and Ken would need someone to match them too, a being of utter chaotic energy and someone who sees the world through wonder. Then Lizable, she'd need someone bold to bring her out of her shell a bit more, someone adventurous but kind."  
"... And me?" Harlon asked.  
"Oh, you'd need someone to crack you out of your shell a bit more too." Sophia grinned. "Someone who is sensitive and emotional, but quiet like you isn't bad either."  
"... Right..." Harlon responded. "Can I sleep now?"  
"Alright, alright, I'm going." Sophia laughed, getting down and heading towards the door. "Enjoy dreaming about your future love!"  
"I won't." Harlon responded with a grumble as the door slammed shut.  
Finally the engine was in a nice, warm, peaceful shed on his own. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep at all, gently wishing for Valentines Day to be over as fast as it had arrived.

The almost fully waned moon was hanging quite clearly in the sky by the time the other engines began to come back due to the relatively short days. Harlon woke up enough to hear the clamour as Fallon and Sophia met in the middle of the yard and the latter passed on the news, but they moved over to what Harlon assumed was the works so he was able to sleep a little bit longer before everyone else came back.  
However, Clarabelle and Danielle soon came into the shed when they got back, stopping any sleep Harlon was going to get once and for all. And they came in gossiping.  
"Did you hear Sophia and Fallon?" Clarabelle smiled to her sister as they reversed into the shed in perfect unison, right down to the movement of their side rods.  
"I did, it's so sweet!" Danielle beamed. "I'm glad she's found someone at last."  
Harlon was suddenly reminded a little too much of Sophia's earlier gushing and promptly decided he was leaving with what power he had left, rushing out of the shed only to nearly run into Genny, Glacier and Icicle.  
"Where are you going in such a hurry?" She asked him, amusement glittering in her eyes.  
"Away from the gossiping." Harlon answered crossly. "And to find the crew for the maintence train."  
"I've got your crew here." Genny told him, but glanced to the shed with a laugh. "Thanks for the warning though."  
Harlon laughed a little, glad that at least one of his sisters was sane in his book.  
"Alright, we're here, we'll rescue you." Harlon's night driver laughed, jumping down from Icicle and walking up to the engine, the night fireman in tow.  
"Yes please." Harlon responded, rolling over to a water tower while everyone else began to work around him.  
As his crew filled his water tank and moved him over to get some coal, the train's guard was climbing into the caboose to ready the train and the workers were piling in tools, rail and ballast onto the maintenance train for the evening. It wasn't a specialised train, rather some trucks and a mess coach that had been adapted one way or another, but it did what it needed to do and everyone was happy enough with it. Two workers also fetched Harlon's head lamp and snowplow, knowing that there was probably going to be wildlife on Fallon's tour route and this was the closest he had to a cowcatcher, the bright light from his head lamp beaming out into the rapidly falling darkness ahead. Everything ran like clockwork, the night crew being a small family of their own who threw inside jokes around each other like a baseball ball between a father and son but mostly Harlon was happily left to work with his own driver and fireman.  
Eventually, the engine was shunted onto and coupled up to his train. With a blow of the guard's whistle, Harlon was off into the night, Ace calling after him and wishing him good luck, as always, which Harlon didn't acknowledge.

At night, Fallon's tour route was largely peaceful. There weren't many large or dangerous predators in the area as far as they knew, such as wolves, lynxes or bears, only the occasional fox, attracted by the smell of the workmens' food and brave enough to try and steal it, and none of the larger, hooven animals were around at this time of night. It was just Harlon, the workmen and some bats every now and then.  
On the maintenance train, even Harlon's own crew chipped in with the work, lit by Harlon's head lamp and other lights powered by an on-board generator, mostly leaving the engine to relax.  
"Looks like those Mountain Goats have been here again." One of the workmen commented, shining his torch on the ground some meters ahead. "I swear this nanny herd gets bigger every year."  
"As long as they're not going to hang about on the tracks, who cares?" Another workman commented with a shrug, the track being raised up in the middle of a fairly open landscape.  
Harlon chuckled a little, he was surprised that there had been no accidents yet as well but he knew his sister was careful. He heard his crew laughing in his cab too.  
"By the way, how's your wife doing?" His driver asked his fireman. "Can't be too long now until she gives birth."  
"No, only two weeks until she's due." His fireman replied, Harlon practically able to feel the man smiling.  
"You're not worried she'll have the baby while you're at work?" His driver asked before Harlon could speak up.  
"No, she's got her sister with her and both of our mothers. She'll be alright." His fireman chuckled. "What are you doing with your missus tomorrow?"  
"Spending the day together, just us. Kids are spending the day with their husbands too." Harlon's driver answered, an older man who had been working on the railroad almost since it had opened. "Walking around town, cooking dinner at home together-"  
"You? Cooking?" His fireman laughed. "Harlon can't make it to your home for dinner."  
"Yeah, I can't be around to be your grill." Harlon added jokingly.  
"Very funny you two." Harlon's driver responded, but he was laughing as well. "I never said anything about grilling food. Are you going to be cooking for your wife?"  
"Of course." Harlon's fireman answered. "She's eight months pregnant. I'm going to pamper her as much as I can."  
The more his crew talked about their wives and Valentine's Day, the more Harlon found himself thinking about what Sophia had said earlier, gradually tuning out of the conversation. He tried to imagine the engine she tried to describe in front of him. It ended up looking a little like one of the engine's from Oliver's magazine that morning, painted in dark green with bright white edging and a face that showed exactly what kind of engine it was - quiet but sensitive and emotional. However, no matter how else he imagined this engine to be, nothing sat right, whether it was female, male, ambiguous, girly, tomboyish or somewhere in the middle - Harlon felt nothing for the engine he had just imagined.  
_"Maybe this romance thing really isn't for me."_ Harlon concluded to himself quietly.


End file.
